When astronaut Neil Armstrong uttered what became one of the best-known -- and most debated -- quotes in all of history , he actually might have said it exactly the way he meant to , not the way people heard it .

After Armstrong lowered his left foot from the landing craft to the surface of the moon , people watching around the world heard him call it `` one small step for man . ''

Both he and NASA initially insisted that he said `` one small step for a man , '' and now a new and novel study on the much-analyzed quote backs him up .

Researchers from Michigan State University and Ohio State University have `` bolstered Neil Armstrong 's side of the story , '' said Laura Dilley , an MSU assistant professor of communicative sciences and disorders .

After becoming the first person to step on the moon in 1969 , Armstrong said what was heard as : `` That 's one small step for man ; one giant leap for mankind . ''

You can hear the audio here .

Later , as NASA explains , Armstrong said he had intended to say `` a man , '' and thought he had . But he agreed that `` a '' did not seem audible in the recording .

Numerous intense studies have been carried out over the years , using high-tech equipment , all in the effort to discover whether he had indeed uttered that one little sound .

In 2006 , Peter Shann Ford said he had found the `` a '' in a study of the audio waveform , NASA explains . Then , `` more rigorous analyses of the transmission were undertaken by people with professional experience with audio waveforms and , most importantly , audio spectrograms . None of these analyses support Ford 's conclusion . ''

First man on the moon gave rare interview

Until now , perhaps .

The MSU and OSU researchers took what they call a novel approach : studying how people from Armstrong 's native central Ohio pronounce `` for '' and `` for a. ''

The team studied recordings of 40 people in Columbus , near Armstrong 's native town of Wapakoneta . They found numerous examples of `` for '' and `` for a '' sounding similar .

Their results suggest that it is entirely possible that Armstrong said what he claimed , though evidence indicates that people are statistically more likely to hear ` for man ' instead of ` for a man ' on the recording , '' Michigan State University said in a news release .

`` We feel we 've partially vindicated him , '' Dilley said . `` But we 'll most likely never know for sure exactly what he said . ''

Recalling Armstrong 's `` life well-lived ''

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Armstrong was heard around the world calling the first moon walk a `` small step for man ''

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He contended he had said `` a man ''

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Numerous studies have been carried out

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A new study of speech patterns near his hometown found he may have said `` for a ''